Alright, first draft of the first Scenario for the Disco Arkham Horror set set is done (along with base decks for the 4 flavors of Harry). Now to see if I can playtest it a couple of times to make sure it's not too busted before I throw more energy at it.
Nomadotto
@nomadotto.bsky.social
Designer of Rex Regnat, a game about the Polish Constitution of 1791. The mathier half of The Force Unlimited. Makes board games, data analysis, bad decisions. Portfolio - sites.google.com/view/damonicdesigns
Kicking myself for not having a game to submit to this stellar event this year. But in truth, the game I was gonna bring got signed so I suppose I can't complain too much. If *you* have a game that's more than a bit offbeat, considering signing up and selling copies at IGNM at PAX U!
reminder: you've got until 9pm eastern tomorrow to submit an application to be a vendor for the Indie Games Night Market! I'll then spend a couple weeks going over the submissions and let folks know by the 15th whether or not you've been selected! www.newmillindustries.com/ignm-app
In self-promotion, I'll be on KBOO (90.7 fm in Portland, 104.3 fm in Corvallis, 91.9 fm in Hood River) on 08/04 at 11:00am talking to Winner's Bias about the PNW Indie Game Night Market at PAX West. LIsten via radio or online at kboo.fm/listen-now (stream) or kboo.fm/program/winn... (recording)
Stream Live
kboo.fm
When I go to GenCon, I feel torn. It forces me to face the fact that my job depends on a rah-rah consumerism I reject. That ache grows heavier each year. 🎲✂️
Received copies of Thought Complex to sell at the PAX West Indie Night Market this Sept. It looks so great! The game was manufactured by Launch Tabletop. I've got a couple of design journals I'll be publishing tomorrow and Thurs that cover the design and manufacturing experience. To PAX! #boardgames
For the threes of people this is of interest for, I've started spending some of my copious free time on a Disco Elysium set for Arkham Horror (Strange Eons is a good tool). The goal is 4 pre-built investigator decks, one for each flavor of Harry, and a 3-mission mini campaign. Teasers attached!
Saw The Odyssey last night, and quite enjoyed it. It was in dialogue with Oppenheimer, but was a better exploration of cleverness as both a blessing for "solving problems" and a societal curse (what happens after the problem is solved). I really hope I can explore this in my designs (someday)
Assembly time for Hench. Shout outs to @connor.alwaysawake.games for giving me a place to sell my weird crap, Portland's own Paperjam press for the lovely rulebooks and covers, and Launch Tabletop ( @launchtabletop.bsky.social perhaps?) for all the other quality components. See you at #PAXWest
Please forgive me some self-promotion here. My game Sykes-Picot was released in 2025, and I think it fits the criteria of the Summit Award quite well. It is easy to teach and play, and it covers a unique historical topic in a novel way. To anyone willing to nominate it, I'd be highly appreciative.
Nominations are now open for the 2026 Summit Award (for historical games published in 2025) and the 2026 Bobby Nunes Memorial Award (for historical gaming content published in 2025)! More info, and the nominations form, available here: sdhist.com/nominations-...
These resources aren't just for TTRPG designers -- board game 🎲✂️ creators, you can class up your games without a drop of AI "art."
Public Domain Art is the lifeblood of small tabletop rpgs, but it can be a nightmare trying to find the right art and license. This week, I’ve re-uploaded my old list from 2020 (with updates) of public domain websites. That's 500,000+ public domain paintings, photos, maps, and film. Link below 🔗👇
Excited to announce the games for the PNW Tabletop Game Market at PaxWest! There’s a lot of really exciting stuff this year. The market opens at 7pm on 9/5. Hope to see you there! www.alwaysawake.games/pnw-tabletop...
If you want to get in on this, you can follow the KS here! www.kickstarter.com/projects/alw...
Coming soon: Out of Sorts - 2nd Edition
Work together to sort the strange books in an alien's library before time runs out!
kickstarter.com
It's so good. Even smarter than the original, and just as weird and frantic.
SEVEN-PART PACT, my fantastical ornate TTRPG about powerful wizards, asymmetrical board games, and the pressures of masculinity is now launching on kickstarter! www.kickstarter.com/projects/sjg...
Seven-Part Pact
A fantastical, ornate TTRPG from Possum Creek about the might and folly of powerful wizards bound by a venerable Pact.
kickstarter.com
I’m finally going to have a game at an indie night market. My son, Jason, and I designed Red Spiral, and we’re printing a few dozen copies of it to sell at PAX West. www.alwaysawake.games/pnw-tabletop...
seven part pact launches in 2 days, here's some sketches by @badbucket.bsky.social showing the process for designing different boards — each of the seven wizards has their own board game with completely different rules (and inspiration from different styles of medieval art)
EXTENDED: Submissions are due by Friday, July 17 at 11:59PM ET #gencon #tabletop #gamedesign 🎲✂️
📣 Calling Tabletop Game Designers 📣 Are you heading to Gen Con later this month? We have three (3!) speed pitch opportunities for underrepresented groups to get their games in front of publishers! More info at https://f.mtr.cool/dgjijlevjs #gencon #gamedesign 🎲✂️
A fun surprise to come back to after 4 days of camping, my prototype for Train of Thought came in. Excited to get this to the physical table for testing both in PDX and at Pax West
Just bought my flights to PAX West! Super excited to attend this one for the first time and meet a bunch of the Seattle folks I only know from the internet!
Seven-Part Pact will launch on Kickstarter July 14th, an auspicious day for powerful magic !! the game includes multiple decks of cards, including a deck of destinies wielded by the sage for determining the narrative future of the pact
Proofs of the Rex Regnat 2nd printing just came in! Looks great, and if all goes well, should be ready in late August.
Another Hawk & Dove update went out today via our newsletter! Progress on Painkillers and announcing our attendance at several conventions across the EU this fall. As always, if you're interested in what we're up to, please share and subscribe! www.hawkanddovegames.com
Hawk and Dove
Hawk & Dove is a historical board game studio focused on delivering challenging player experiences.
hawkanddovegames.com
📣 Calling Tabletop Game Designers 📣 Are you heading to Gen Con later this month? We have three (3!) speed pitch opportunities for underrepresented groups to get their games in front of publishers! More info at https://f.mtr.cool/dgjijlevjs #gencon #gamedesign 🎲✂️
We've put a ton of effort into this project and would love to see more responses. Absolutely looking for both more designers to apply and for publishers to participate. www.unpub.org/upcoming-eve...
Unpub at Gen Con 2026 — Unpub: The Unpublished Games Network
Unpub is partnering with Tabletop Gaymers , Women in Toys, Licensing, and Entertainment , and the Rose Gauntlet Foundation to bring three speed pitch sessions to Gen Con 2026 for underserved demog...
unpub.org
📣 Calling Tabletop Game Designers 📣 Are you heading to Gen Con later this month? We have three (3!) speed pitch opportunities for underrepresented groups to get their games in front of publishers! More info at https://f.mtr.cool/dgjijlevjs #gencon #gamedesign 🎲✂️
🎲✂️ After close to a month of design, the pre-production files for Pact have been sent! I'm so excited to see what we made You can see a little sneak peek of what everything looks like put together in the screentop implementation. Check it out! screentop.gg/@zhoekstra/p...
Oh oops it’s me. I thought that link preview would show up differently. I’m gonna have my first booth at PaxWest!
Oh hey, look who it is! west.paxsite.com/en-us/expo-h...
You've got one month left to submit your application to be a vendor at the Indie Games Night Market! Submissions close on August 1! Get to it! www.newmillindustries.com/ignm-app
IGNM App — New Mill Industries
newmillindustries.com
Make your next work of art in Color Jam, a cozy, print-and-puzzle coloring game launching on Kickstarter later this year. Grab your favorite crayons and play solo or with friends. Follow along here for when the project goes live: www.kickstarter.com/projects/lun... The night is for creativity. 🖍️
Coming soon: Color Jam: A Print-and-Puzzle Coloring Game
Enjoy cozy and clever coloring at your next game night. Craft the story of each hand-illustrated picture with creative color choices!
kickstarter.com
Breaking news! I heard Zach (and maybe Putnam???), co-creator of Dwarf Fortress, will be at PAX West this year, ready to give autographs, sign merch, and give dwarfy high-fives to all and sundry. What will YOU get signed?
✂️🎲 I use Affinity for all my rulebooks and components, and I really like it. It's especially nice using free software to work on a co-design, since I wasn't forcing my co-designer to buy anything. I wrote an article specific to board games if others want to try it out. rossongames.com/affinity
Affinity for Board Games
How to use Affinity Studio to design components and write rulebooks for board game prototypes.
rossongames.com